Ian Happ homered as part of a three-RBI day for the Chicago Cubs, who clinched a playoff spot Wednesday with their 8-4 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Cubs celebrated their first postseason berth since the shortened 2020 campaign after Happ caught the final out in left field to sweep the three-game series and win their fourth straight.
Happ and Moises Ballesteros homered in a four-run first inning for Chicago, which added three runs in the sixth. Aaron Civale (4-9) allowed just a hit in three innings of relief to get his first win with the Cubs and his first since Aug. 2, when he played for the White Sox.
Joey Bart hit a three-run homer for the Pirates, who lost their fourth straight. Yohan Ramirez (1-3) pitched just two-thirds of an inning but was charged with all three sixth-inning runs, none earned.
Yankees 10, Twins 5
Trent Grisham went 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs, and New York pulled away for a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Cody Bellinger finished 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs for New York, which won the rubber match of the three-game series. Jasson Dominguez and Ryan McMahon contributed one RBI apiece. Yankees right-hander Fernando Cruz (3-4) pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. He followed starter Luis Gil, who allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Brooks Lee went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs to lead Minnesota. Royce Lewis finished 2-for-4 and drove in a run. Twins right-hander Taj Bradley (6-8) surrendered seven runs on eight hits in four innings.
Dodgers 5, Phillies 0
Blake Snell struck out a season-high 12 batters as Los Angeles earned a shutout victory over visiting Philadelphia to avert a three-game series sweep.
Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani hit home runs as the Dodgers maintained their two-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League West. Snell gave up two hits and two walks over seven innings. After the Dodgers’ bullpen gave up 14 of the Phillies’ 15 runs in the first two games of the series, Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott finished off the last two innings to cap a three-hitter.
Jesus Luzardo (14-7) gave up four runs over seven-plus innings for the Phillies, who still won their sixth consecutive series while clinching the NL East title on Monday.
Astros 5, Rangers 2
Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena homered as Houston completed a three-game sweep of visiting Texas and moved back into first place in the American League West.
The Astros not only extended their lead over the third-place Rangers to five games, but they also claimed the rubber match in the 13-game season series with Texas. Houston moved a half-game ahead of Seattle atop the division. Astros starter Cristian Javier (2-3) delivered six innings of two-run ball.
The Astros scored twice in the first inning against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (12-8) and extended the margin when Altuve and Pena slugged home runs in the third and fifth innings, respectively. deGrom allowed a season-high-tying five runs on six hits in five innings.
Guardians 4, Tigers 0
Gavin Williams and a handful of relievers combined on a four-hit shutout as streaking Cleveland blanked host Detroit.
Williams (11-5) struck out nine and gave up three hits in five innings. Bo Naylor had a two-run single for the Guardians, who have won 11 of 12 to pull within 4 1/2 games of the first-place Tigers in the American League Central and within 2 1/2 games of a wild-card spot.
Detroit starter Jack Flaherty (8-14) allowed one run and three hits in five innings.
Marlins 8, Rockies 4
Agustin Ramirez homered, Javier Sanoja had three hits, and the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 8-4 in Denver on Wednesday night.
Troy Johnston and Connor Norby had two hits each for the Marlins, who have won the first two games of the three-game series. Miami reliever Lake Bachar (7-2) threw two shutout innings.
Hunter Goodman had three hits and Mickey Moniak homered for the Rockies, who have dropped 21 of their past 25. Reliever Jaden Hill (1-1) allowed one run in his lone inning.
Reds 6, Cardinals 2
Spencer Steer drove in five runs to power Cincinnati past host St. Louis.
Steer went 3-for-4 with a homer and Gavin Lux went 3-for-5 with a run for the Reds, who won two of three games in the series. Cincinnati starter Brady Singer (14-10) allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits in 5 2/3 innings, with six strikeouts.
Alec Burleson hit a home run for the Cardinals, who lost for the seventh time in nine games. Starter Andre Pallante (6-15) allowed four runs on six hits in five innings.
Giants 5, Diamondbacks 1
Christian Koss’ two-run double keyed a five-run 11th inning and San Francisco beat Arizona in Phoenix to end a four-game losing streak.
Jerar Encarnacion had a tiebreaking single off John Curtiss (3-2). Following Koss’ hit, Grant McCray produced a sacrifice fly and Rafael Devers capped the inning with another run-scoring single as the Giants salvaged the final game of a three-game series.
Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt threw a career-high nine innings, giving up one hit. Giants starter Justin Verlander matched his longest outing of the year, throwing seven innings.
Orioles 3, White Sox 1
Tyler Wells threw six quality innings, Dylan Beavers hit a two-run homer and visiting Baltimore posted a victory over Chicago to complete a three-game sweep.
Wells (2-0) allowed one run on four hits. Keegan Akin pitched the ninth inning for his seventh save. Beavers homered for the second time in as many games for the Orioles, who have gone 11-4 in September.
White Sox starter Martin Perez (1-6) surrendered three runs on five hits across 3 2/3 innings before exiting due to left shoulder soreness. Mike Tauchman homered for Chicago.
Braves 9, Nationals 4
Matt Olson had three hits, including a home run, and visiting Atlanta rallied from a 3-0 deficit against Washington to complete a four-game sweep.
Olson had three homers and nine RBIs in the series as the Braves outscored the Nationals 31-10. Atlanta totaled 16 hits on Wednesday and has won five straight.
Washington starter Brad Lord gave up two runs on six hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings.
Rays 2, Blue Jays 1
Ian Seymour was fantastic in his fourth career start, and Chandler Simpson was clutch both in the outfield and at the plate as Tampa Bay snapped a three-game skid against Toronto.
Seymour (4-2) gave up just one unearned run and four hits over seven innings to drop his ERA to 2.54. Simpson was 3-for-4 with a double and the tiebreaking RBI in the seventh after making a defensive play that saved two runs, turning a potential home run from Alejandro Kirk into a sacrifice fly. Yandy Diaz was 2-for-2 with a run batted in and a walk.
Ernie Clement was 2-for-3 for the American League East-leading Blue Jays, who produced only four hits and dropped their first game in the last seven. Kevin Gausman pitched six innings, allowing one run on six hits.
Padres 7, Mets 4
Manny Machado hit a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth inning as San Diego topped host New York to split the first two games of a three-game series between the teams holding down the final two National League wild-card spots.
Ramon Laureano hit an insurance solo homer in the ninth as San Diego won for the fourth time in six games. After relieving starter Nick Pivetta, who surrendered three runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, Adrian Morejon (12-5) retired all four batters he faced to earn the win.
Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Starling Marte and Francisco Alvarez homered for the Mets, who dropped their ninth game of the last 11. Starter David Peterson (9-6) gave up six runs on six hits over five innings.
Red Sox 5, Athletics 4 (10 innings)
Nick Sogard’s grounder to second base scored Nate Eaton from third in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Boston a victory over the visiting Athletics.
Rob Refsnyder homered for the Red Sox, who won despite going 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Jarren Duran had three hits, Masataka Yoshida added two hits and two RBIs and Trevor Story contributed two hits and an RBI. Chris Murphy (3-0) entered in the top of the 10th and earned the win. Boston is tied with Seattle in the second AL wild-card spot.
The A’s got three hits from Jacob Wilson and three RBIs from Darell Hernaiz. They had runners on first and third with no outs in the top of the 10th but failed to score. Michael Kelly (4-4) pitched the bottom of the 10th as the Athletics’ five-game winning streak ended.
Royals 7, Mariners 5
Adam Frazier was 2-for-4 with a tiebreaking, two-run homer during a four-run eighth inning as host Kansas City snapped Seattle’s 10-game winning streak.
Salvador Perez added his 29th home run of the season, a three-run shot to open the scoring in the first for the Royals. Starter Cole Ragans threw 62 pitches over 3 2/3 innings in his return from a rotator cuff injury. He surrendered two runs and one hit. Lucas Erceg (8-4) was one of six M’s relievers to enter the game.
Seattle’s Eugenio Suarez was 4-for-4 with three runs scored and a two-run homer. J.P. Crawford added a solo shot. Matt Brash (1-3) retired two batters in the eighth for Seattle, giving up four runs on four hits. Starter Bryce Miller allowed three runs on eight hits over five innings.
Brewers 9, Angels 2
Blake Perkins was 2-for-4 with a triple and five RBIs, Sal Frelick had a three-run homer and starter Brandon Woodruff was stellar over five innings for host Milwaukee in a win over Los Angeles.
Woodruff (7-2), making his first start in 11 days, gave up two hits and one run while striking out nine in a 69-pitch outing for the MLB-leading Brewers.
Taylor Ward hit two solo shots, his 32nd and 33rd, for the Angels, who lost their sixth game in a row. Starter Jose Soriano (10-11) left in the second inning after being struck by a 107.4 mph line drive from Jake Bauers. Soriano suffered a right forearm contusion, but X-rays were negative for a fracture.
